On its 11th day, the High Park fire in Larimer County has grown to 59,845 acres with 55 percent containment, authorities said this evening.

The Larimer County Sheriff's Department said 1,911 personnel are working on the fire in shifts around the clock, and 17 helicopters are tackling the blaze.

Four large tankers, each carrying 8,000 gallons of retardant, hit a spot fire north of Poudre Canyon hard today, trying to keep the blaze beyond the northwest perimeter from moving even farther past its containment line.

U.S. Forest Service spokesman Bernie Pineda said "slop over" from the 200-acre fire on Sheep Mountain was spotted between 9 and 9:30 a.m., expanding the northwest boundaries of the High Park fire.

Members of the PatRick fire crew of Boise map their route at the High Park Fire Incident Command Post at the National Guard Armory in Fort Collins. Hot, swirling winds complicated the battle against the High Park fire Tuesday. story, 9A (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

"We jumped on it quickly and we are confident it will not be an issue," Pineda said during the Tuesday afternoon briefing about the fire. "We have been using heavy tankers throughout the day. They have come four times today."

Notifications were sent to 95 telephone numbers today alerting residents to be ready to evacuate in the Rustic community along Colorado Highway 14 from the Pingree Park Road west to mile marker 90, just west of the Glen Echo Resort, the Sheriff's Department said tonight.

Because of the location of the fire, residents would have to evacuate west on Colorado Highway 14 to Walden, which is about 55 miles.

When that fire jumped Poudre Canyon last Thursday, it forced the evacuation of nearby Glacier View Meadows neighborhoods and put others on standby.

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Thousands of residents, including livestock, remain on evacuation, some in places where the fire has moved on. Utility crews are restoring power and phone lines in those areas.

The county will hold a meeting for Glacier View Meadows residents at gate 8, at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Residents who have evacuated livestock to The Ranch Events Center in Loveland can attend either of two informational meetings on Wednesday, at 4 p.m. or 6 p.m., inside the grandstands at Ranch-Way Feeds Indoor Arena.

Incident commander Bill Hahnenberg said crews have built 49 miles of constructed and contained fire lines.

The top priority of crews is "making sure the fire doesn't ... threaten homes," he said.

After two days of searing heat and single-digit humidities, Wednesday's weather should assist firefighters, as a cold front cools the high temperature to about 75 degrees, about 20 degrees cooler. Winds are expected to back off slightly, as well, with gusts out of the northwest up to 20 mph.

Lockheed says object part of 'sensor technology' testing that ended ThursdayWhat the heck is that thing? It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

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